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Wednesday, 18 May 2016

Facebook is bringing 360-degree photos to the News Feed

Facebook’s 360 Degree Photos to News Feed

Facebook has informed that in the coming weeks, it will let you upload and view 360 degree photos on mobile and the web. Facebook has progressively made VR an essential part of its platform and hence this announcement is not much of a surprise of 360 degree photos coming to your News feed. The feature would function identical to a 360 degree video wherein one will be able to click and drag to discover the environment on desktop or move your smartphone around as if its screen were a viewfinder.

The feature is said to be a part of a great mission to frame Facebook as a means of exploring faraway places. Moreover it is also tied directly to Facebook-owned Oculus VR’s push for more live-action photography and video you can experience with the Gear VR and Rift headsets.

With both the device you will also be capable of viewing 360 degree photos that are shared on the social network. Since September of last year, 360 degree video had been available on Facebook and it will still be quite a while before users as well as creators hold the new format in large numbers. Facebook is presently making its platform friendlier to photos that can be shot with smartphone rather than an expensive video rig.

VR – An Integral Part of Platform

We may see a firm uptick in professional grade as well as consumer shot 360 degree content.Update would enable you to upload scenes that have been captured with native smartphone cameras, 360 degree photospheres made with third party apps or photos shot utilising a dedicated 360 degree rig. Facebook has increasingly made VR an integral part of its platform, so today’s announcement isn’t a huge surprise: 360 degree photos are coming to your news feed.

Facebook needs to urge users to create many photos and videos as possible so that it made a camera of its own. At the time of its annual F8 developers’ conference, it had announced a reference design for a new 17 camera array known as Facebook Surround 360. The company expects that the third party manufacturer would develop their own 360 degree cameras utilising the blueprints since at the end of the day, the more photos and videos which make their way to Facebook, the more time users would spend engrossed in social network.

Landscapes Captured on Phone – Better Viewing Experience

Three years ago, Google had first attempted to promote360 degree images with the introduction of Photospheres, but they never caught on much since they were difficult to share. Anticipate that to begin changing now that Facebook tends to support the format. There is no information regarding the release date, though Facebook states that 360 degree photos would be available on mobile and the Web in the coming weeks.

The landscapes captured on the phone would ultimately provide a better viewing experience both on News Feed and the Oculus powered Samsung Gear VR. For the first time, Facebook would also be releasing Gear VR usage stats, stating that Gear VR tends to have 1 million monthly users and those who seem to use it spend around 25 minutes each day on the device which would encourage developers in building the platform.